Rolling Stone (7/8-7/22/99, p.154) - 4 stars (out of 5) - "...the artists on this collection...concoct the sonic stew that Parsons called 'cosmic American music'....There's not a bad track among the thirteen here....Parsons fans won't be disappointed..."Spin (8/99, p.152) - 8 (out of 10) - "...Because many of the acts on ANGEL share parson's love for country tragedy along with his remove from it...they take the same freedoms with his songs that he took with his source material..."Entertainment Weekly (7/23/99, p.67) - "...plays it straight, with most contributors confident enough to just play the songs, not reinvent them..." - Rating: B+CMJ (6/14/99, p.26) - "...a beautifully orchestrated collection of some of [Gram Parsons'] most influential songs, covered by artists who owe much to his powerful yet subtle brilliance..."Dirty Linen (12/99-1/00, pp.70-1) - "...once the list of the top 10 tribute albums of the decade is tallied up this one has a good chance of making the list."0.308063

Rolling Stone (3/9/95, p.64) - 3 Stars - Good - "...Over a nearly 30-year career...Richard Thompson has established himself as a guitar virtuoso and extraordinary songwriter. BEAT THE RETREAT contains some energized renditions of his material..."Q (11/94, p.126) - 4 Stars - Excellent - "...The range of performers involved here underlines the reach of Thompson's art....BEAT THE RETREAT achieves a continuity of mood that places it above most `tribute' albums..."Dirty Linen (12/94-1/95, p.62) - "...BEAT THE RETREAT shows just how much a great song can ignite the creative spark within even the most mainstream artists..."Option (3-4/95, p.93) - "...does justice to a darkly masterful songwriter and guitarist..."0.264054

Spin (5/92, p.16) - "...a triumphant return with a fifth heaping hamper of catchy, crafty guitar-pop ditties via [Dando's] wonderful Lemonheads..."Q (12/99, p.74) - Included in Q Magazine's "90 Best Albums Of The 1990s."Q (1/93) - p.72) - Included in Q's list of the 50 Best Albums Of 1992.Uncut (p.106) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "[L]istening to IT'S A SHAME ABOUT RAY now, what's most striking is an emotional frailty at the heart of these swift and memorable little songs..."Magnet (p.100) - "RAY still sounds remarkably fresh, retaining its bouncy, subdued edge with a sense of humor the Lemonheads' peers painfully lacked."Reflex (11/10/92, p.72) - "...catchy...it would be a shame not to buy RAY..." Option (Nov.-Dec./92, p.124) - "...altogether more assured...thanks to some unabashedly great songs like the title tune, this should prove wildly popular..."Q (Magazine) (p.148) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "[C]areworn guitar pop, equally grounded in punk and Gram Parsons, a fusion that found its near-perfect embodiment on 1992's IT'S A SHAME ABOUT RAY."Mojo (Publisher) (p.120) - 5 stars out of 5 -- "[T]he whole thing was washed in a sweet, dopey, lazy sunniness that gave warmth to everything it touched..."Paste (magazine) (p.73) - "Its sugary, lilting melodies and the boy/girl harmonies of frontman Evan Dando and then-bassist Juliana Hatfield were unexpected..."Pitchfork (Website) - "Almost 16 years after its initial release, Dando's slacker pop sounds almost Zen. Those short songs now seem concise and even disciplined. What was once mopey now plays as something much more complex and contradictory: exuberant pop melancholy."Record Collector (magazine) (p.96) - 3 stars out of 5 -- "[T]his is an interesting juncture indeed, charming in its sunny naivety."0.241568

Spin (5/92, p.16) - "...a triumphant return with a fifth heaping hamper of catchy, crafty guitar-pop ditties via [Dando's] wonderful Lemonheads..."Q (12/99, p.74) - Included in Q Magazine's "90 Best Albums Of The 1990s."Q (1/93) - p.72) - Included in Q's list of the 50 Best Albums Of 1992.Uncut (p.106) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "[L]istening to IT'S A SHAME ABOUT RAY now, what's most striking is an emotional frailty at the heart of these swift and memorable little songs..."Magnet (p.100) - "RAY still sounds remarkably fresh, retaining its bouncy, subdued edge with a sense of humor the Lemonheads' peers painfully lacked."Reflex (11/10/92, p.72) - "...catchy...it would be a shame not to buy RAY..." Option (Nov.-Dec./92, p.124) - "...altogether more assured...thanks to some unabashedly great songs like the title tune, this should prove wildly popular..."Q (Magazine) (p.148) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "[C]areworn guitar pop, equally grounded in punk and Gram Parsons, a fusion that found its near-perfect embodiment on 1992's IT'S A SHAME ABOUT RAY."Mojo (Publisher) (p.120) - 5 stars out of 5 -- "[T]he whole thing was washed in a sweet, dopey, lazy sunniness that gave warmth to everything it touched..."Paste (magazine) (p.73) - "Its sugary, lilting melodies and the boy/girl harmonies of frontman Evan Dando and then-bassist Juliana Hatfield were unexpected..."Pitchfork (Website) - "Almost 16 years after its initial release, Dando's slacker pop sounds almost Zen. Those short songs now seem concise and even disciplined. What was once mopey now plays as something much more complex and contradictory: exuberant pop melancholy."Record Collector (magazine) (p.96) - 3 stars out of 5 -- "[T]his is an interesting juncture indeed, charming in its sunny naivety."0.241568